


After the Fall

by Gerec



Series: Nothing But Movie AUs [8]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Fusion, Angst, M/M, Mpreg, Post Revenge of the Sith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 15:39:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6991660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gerec/pseuds/Gerec
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Jedi Erik Lehnsherr falls to the Dark Side, his husband Senator Charles Xavier of Naboo fakes his death with the help of Erik's old Master.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the Fall

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [XavierineFest2016](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/XavierineFest2016) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  Star Wars AU: Despite their love, senator Charles wasn't able to stop his jedi husband Erik from joining the dark side and helping the Chancellor (Shaw? En Sabah Nur?) creating the empire. Even heartbroken at the loss of Erik and at his own failure at saving democracy, he starts the rebellion, Logan staying faithfully at his side. Of course, they get closer and closer.  
> Maybe Logan was Erik’s master, maybe he’s been one of Charles’ guard for years. Charles can be pregnant or not when Erik go dark side.

**_Logan_ **

Logan turns from the charred and smoldering body of his best friend and once apprentice, his _brother_ , ignoring the pained screams filling his ears, and walks away.

The lightsaber feels like a burning brand in the palm of his hand, and every step he takes from the river of fire adds more weight to his utter failure as a Knight of the Jedi Order. His old Master would have _known_ the pain that lived ever in Erik’s heart, he thinks; would have tempered his rage and calmed his fears and halted his mad descent to the Dark Side.

Yes, she would have been a better Master to Erik, and a better friend; she would not leave him now to his fate, twisted and evil and barely alive.

No, his Master would have shown Erik mercy, and in her wisdom, ended his life.

But Logan…

Logan has always been weak when it came to the ones he loved.

\-----

Charles is laying where they left him on the landing pad, so still he could be mistaken for dead if not for the presence that yet lingers, weakened and in distress. What’s left of Logan’s broken heart shatters, the reminder of losing Erik so completely – of his betrayal and utter rejection of the Light - unmoving at his feet.

He lifts Charles gently into his arms, cradling him close as the droids chatter nonsensically in the background, asking after their lost Master. Logan has no patience to answer their queries, anxious as he is to get Charles to the ship’s tiny med bay. There is only a single cot with a limited supply of medpacs and stabilizing stims, and no medical droid to diagnose the extent of the damage inflicted upon Charles and the child he’s carrying. 

There is nothing Logan can do but check his pulse, before strapping him into the bed as R2 preps the ship for take-off. Charles’ eyes flutter briefly when Logan brushes a stray hair from his forehead, lips moving to form a word without sound.

 _Erik_.

\-----

Raven’s eyes are hard and unyielding as she watches her brother sleep, taking in the steady rise and fall of his chest and the soft swell of his stomach under the sheets. The anger radiating off her is palpable, and Logan is too tired, and in too much pain to counsel peace, or serenity.

He’s not sure either of those things exist for him any longer.

They are in the medical wing of the Xaviers’ ancestral home on Naboo, close enough to Mustafar to render much needed aid to a still unconscious Charles. Raven had taken one look at his still form and stormed off, returning with a distraught Hank McCoy – the siblings’ childhood friend and personal physician – to take charge of her brother’s care.

“He’s going to be fine,” the doctor says, and Raven’s rigid stance visibly loosens, as does the knot that’s been sitting in Logan’s stomach for the past twenty four hours. “There’s nothing physically wrong with him. I think his bond with…well, he’ll be waking up soon, I imagine.”

“And the child?” Logan asks.

Hank smiles. “You mean ‘children’, Master Jedi. And they’re going to be fine.”

\----

“Erik did this?” Raven says, the only question she asks Logan as she sits beside Charles’ bed, holding his hand.

“Yes,” he replies. And then, “So did I.”

Raven doesn’t look at him, and she doesn’t answer.

 

*

**_Charles_ **

When Charles opens his eyes, after what feels like an eternity in the dark, he is immediately aware of three things.

He’s still alive.

His children – yes, he can sense them somehow, _two_ inside him, whole and strong – are alive.

And Erik…

Erik still lives, somewhere, in the galaxy. He lives and yet he’s gone from Charles’ side, now and forever, walking a path that Charles can’t follow.

The pain is akin to losing a limb, more excruciating even than Erik’s wrath, as he wraps invisible bands around Charles’ throat and squeezes the air from his gasping lungs. It’s the least that he deserves, Charles thinks, for failing the man he loves with all of his heart; for not finding the right words to convince him, to turn him back.

_“Erik, please don’t do this.”_

_The air is thick with the smell of sulphur, the rivers of lava scorching even the wind with unbearable, searing heat. But Charles only has eyes for his husband, so beautiful and terrible and on the edge of the precipice, the gulf between them widening with each slow and desperate moment that passes._

_“I have to do this, Charles. For you, for the Republic! To end the war once and for all! I can help them, the people who can’t fight for themselves…it’s what we’ve always wanted.”_

_Charles shakes his head, choking back the sob lodged in his throat. “Not like this, Erik. Not if this is what it costs.”_

_“Don’t you see? With my new powers, I can bring peace to the Republic! The Jedi, the Chancellor…we don’t need them, Charles! You and I can rule the galaxy together, as it’s meant to be.”_

_“Do you hear what you’re saying, Erik? Peace can’t be gained through force! Don’t you understand that--”_

_“It’s you that doesn’t understand! You still doubt me, the man you claim to love! When all that I’ve done, I’ve done for you! For our future!”_

_He takes a step closer and reaches for his husband, trembling as his hand brushes against the hard lines of Erik’s face. “Our future, we can still have it, away from all this death. Come away with me. We’ll raise our child together. We can leave all of this behind us…I love you, darling. Please.”_

_Erik kisses him, his arms wrapping around Charles to pull him close, pressing their mouths together hungrily as he’s done so many times before. But Erik’s eyes hold no warmth when he pulls away, and his lips taste like the ashes of the innocents he’s slain._

_“We don’t have to run, Charles. We don’t have to hide anymore, or be afraid. You and I, and our child can be together…we can make the galaxy a better place. We want the same thing.”_

_“I’m sorry.” Charles shakes his head, and for just the briefest of moments, he can see Erik’s composure break, the hurt and disbelief blooming across his face before the mask of cold fury slams back into place. “Erik, I’m so sorry, but we do not.”_

\----

“How do I look?” Charles asks, as he steps into the room where the open casket lays on the marble floor, the train of his robes as long and elaborate as the days when he was King of Naboo. “Suitably corpse like?”

Logan snorts, lip curling ever so slightly as Charles brushes his hand along the edge of carbon and steel. He’s barely spoken a word since Charles woke up three days ago; the crushing guilt visible every time he averts his eyes and exits the room, chased by the anger and resentment he expects Charles to aim his way.

And it would be so easy, to blame Logan for what happened on Mustafar; to take his own bitterness and pain and lay it solely at Logan’s feet. But how could he, when _Charles himself_ could do nothing to stop Erik’s descent into madness?

He waits patiently for a response, only for Logan to ignore his quip, twirling the sedative absently between his fingers before meeting Charles’ gaze. “Are you sure you want to do this? Seems…excessive.”

“Is it?” Charles hikes his robes up and steps into the casket, adjusting his flowing sleeves as he lays back into the neatly cushioned space. “You know he’ll come for me, if he finds out I’m still alive.”

“I do know,” Logan agrees, appearing above Charles’ head, and reaching to take his hand. “I just wish…I don’t…”

“Do it,” Charles interrupts, taking a deep breath and squeezing Logan’s hand. “I need you to trust me and just do this for me, please.”

Logan doesn’t answer him, but then there’s the press of the hypospray against his neck, and the world starts to spin, dragging him down, down, down into the empty dark…

_I’ll be here, when you wake up._

_\-----_

He watches the funeral alone, on the Holonet later that night, the procession through the streets of Theed broadcast from the Core Worlds all the way to the edges of the Outer Rim. Charles marvels at the efficacy of Hank’s serum, his skin so pale and lifeless on the viewscreen, able to hold up under the scrutiny of thousands gathered to mourn the death of Naboo’s favorite son.

The outpouring of grief is genuine and powerful, but all of it – the tears and the show of pomp and pageantry – registers little more to Charles than white noise. If there’s guilt for his deception he doesn’t feel it; Charles can’t afford to second guess himself, for the sake of his unborn twins.

He takes a few moments to mourn his old life, for the man he was, and the love he was privileged to know. There will be no Senate meetings and policy making in Charles’ future; only a life spent on the run, with nothing more than a new name and a few stolen and cherished memories.

  
*

**_Logan_ **

Logan is relieved when the babies finally arrive, two months later.

Naboo is warm and their surroundings lush and beautiful, but Charles grows more despondent with each day that they spend cooped up in their little house by the lake. It’s not hard to guess the reason for his melancholy; he’s fairly certain that this is where Erik and Charles stayed, while Erik was tasked with guarding the Senator after the attempt on his life.

That they return here now, to a place where the two undoubtedly fell in love must make the pain of their parting that much more unbearable. But Charles has yet to speak to Logan about Erik, or the events that led to his turning to the Dark Side...

And Logan…

Logan isn’t sure that he has any answers.

\-----

“They’re beautiful, Charles. Have you thought of names for them?”

Charles smiles at them both, handing the girl to Logan as Raven coos at the boy in her arms. It is the happiest that Logan has seen him since he woke up from his injuries, as though giving birth to new life has managed to breathe a bit of hope and purpose again into his own.

“This is Wanda,” he says, brushing the soft downy curls on her head with a gentle finger. “And Raven has Pietro.” Charles’ smile turns brittle as he adds, “Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.”

Raven turns to her brother, and returns his smile with an equally bittersweet one. “Maximoff. I like it. It’s a good name.”

None of them say what’s on their minds, the regret that the children can bear neither of their parents’ real ones.

“And you two?” Raven adds, after a long stretch of uncomfortable silence. “Have you decided on yours?”

\-----

The twins are six weeks old when Charles and Logan pack up their meagre belongings, under Hank’s watchful eye and Raven’s disapproving one. Travelling incognito is to go without much more than the most basic of necessities, along with the credits that Raven managed to procure from the Xavier estate; just enough to help them disappear, but not enough to raise any suspicions.

“You're sure you want to go already?” Raven asks, as Charles finishes attaching Wanda’s harness to Logan’s chest, before reaching to take Pietro from Hank’s arms. He moves with quick and steady hands, brushing a soft finger against Pietro’s cheek as he slips into his own harness. “You _just_ had twins, Charles, your body still needs time to heal. Can’t you wait another few weeks before you leave?”

Charles shakes his head. “We’ve been here too long already, Raven, you know it’s true. Every second I’m here I run the risk of being discovered; someone could recognize me and then that whole fake funeral will have been for nothing. I have to leave as soon as possible.”

Raven turns to Logan next, but he can do nothing to ease her pain; already the self-proclaimed Emperor begins to tighten the leash around the new Galactic Empire, and time is running out for Charles and Logan both.

“Where will you go?” Hank asks, tucking a few more medpacs into Logan’s gear with a sad smile. Raven turns away from them all, gazing out the window with her shoulders tense and her spine straight, and Logan feels a deep pang of sympathy and loss for the siblings’ forced parting.

“Nar Shaddaa is our first stop. I have a contact on the Smuggler’s Moon who can help us with new identification. And then…well I’m afraid I can’t tell you. For your safety and ours.”

“And then you'll disappear like a ghost from our lives for good, Charles? You and the twins?? Will I ever see you and my niece and nephew again?” Raven snaps, the sharpness in her voice belying her sorrow.

Charles reaches to pull her into his arms, and Logan has to turn his head away, giving the siblings a moment to grieve with a semblance of privacy. They share a few hushed words, their heads bent close and hands entwined, and then Raven is turning his way, a fierce look on her face as she grips his arm.

“Swear to me, that you’ll protect my brother and the twins,” she orders. “Swear it, on whatever Jedi code you honor that you won’t let Erik…that you won’t let _anyone_ hurt them.”

Charles gives Logan a soft, wry grin and shakes his head, as though his sister’s words are clearly expected, if not wholly unappreciated. But Logan returns Raven’s gaze with a determined look of his own, and he takes her hand, squeezing it gently with a sad smile.

“I swear that I will always protect them, Raven,” he promises, “I swear on my honor that I will give my life gladly to keep them safe. You have my word.”

 


End file.
